Can edge cleaning means for packing and filling machines



G. L. ARDRON CAN EDGE CLEANING MEANS FOR PACKING AND FILLING MACHINES Dec. 27, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed May 3, 1943 G. L. ARDRON CAN EDGE CLEANING MEANS FOR PACKING Dec. 27, 1949 AND FILLING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed May 3, 1943 x I w Patented Dec. 27, 1949 CAN EDGE CLEANING MEANS FOR PACKING AND FILLING MACHINES Gerald L. Ardron, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application May 3, 1943, Serial No.

485,511. Divided and this application September 12, 1945, Serial No. 615,761

Claims. 1

The invention relates to can filling, or packing and filling or like apparatus and primarily seeks to provide certain new and useful improvements in cleaning means adaptable for use in such apparatus and effective to clean the edges at the tops of filled cans so that parts of the fill will not overlie said edges and interfere with proper closing of the cans.

An example of packing and filling apparatus of the character stated is disclosed in my copending parent application for U. S. Letters Patent, Serial Number 485,511, filed May 3, 1943, now matured into Patent No. 2,455,723 of December 7, 1948, out of which the present application has been divided.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved mechanism for trimming oii any solid material from the top edges of the cans so as to leave the edges clear and unobstructed, thereby preparing them for being brought into proper sealing contact with a filler head, and also for assuring that protruding fill parts will not interfere with subsequent closing of the cans.

Another object is to provide in apparatus of the character stated, novel means for positively oscillating the cleaning or cutting devices back and forth while they are in contact with the top edges of the cans.

Another object of the invention is to provide in combination with can edge cleaning devices of the character stated novel means for holding the cans firmly while the cleaning devices are moving back and forth over the top edges thereof.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the ap- In the illustrative embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings there is included container feeding mechanism generally designated A, a combined packer and trimmer unit B, a saucing or filling unit C, and a container discharging mechanism D. Cans X, elongated in plan, are first received by the mechanism A which delivers them to the packing and trimmer unit B for having the solid material which previously was placed in the cans compressed or packed and for cutting or trimming off any particles of the solid material which overhang the top edges of the cans. After the packing and trimming operations have been performed, the cans are delivered to the filler unit C in which they are vacuumized and filled with a sauce or other suitable liquid. The filled containers are then discharged on the conveyor D which may deliver them to a suitable mechanism (not shown) for seaming tops or ends on the filled containers.

The feeding mechanism A includes a timing or feeding screw I, juxtaposed to guide means comprising yieldable parts 2 and 3 pivotally mounted as at 4. The yieldable guide means is of a known construction and does not require detailed description. A weighted arm 5 is provided for yieldably urging the guide part 3 to hold the cans X in contact with the feeding screw I.

When the cans X are discharged by the screw I, they are engaged by a two-armed transfer turret 6 which cooperates with a fixed arcuate guide 1 to deliver the cans into pockets 8 of a turret 9. The turret 9 is formed with a hub in mounted to rotate on bearing liners Illa surrounding a stationary spindle H mounted on a main frame l2. The turret 9 rotates clockwise as viewed in Figure 1 and during the first part of a cans travel with the turret, the can is held in the associated pocket 8 by a stationary arcuate guide !3. When a can X moves beyond the guide I 3, two gripper arms M are moved into engagement with the outside of the can for pressing it firmly into the pocket 8. While being held by the arms I 4, mechanism to be described operates to compress the solid material and operate the edge trimmer. After these operations have been completed, the arms l4 are retracted and the can continues to move around, being held in its associated pocket 8 by a stationary arcuate guide l5. After the can moves beyond the guide I5 it is displaced from the turret 9 by a deflecting guide I6 and a two-armed transfer turret II which feeds the can along the guide I6 and into one of a plurality of pockets I6 formed in a rotatable filler turret E9. The turret I9 has a hub journaled by roller bearings 2| to rotate about a stationary hollow spindle 22 fixed to the main frame I2. The turret i9 also rotates clockwise as viewed in Figure l and during the travel of the cans with the turret I9, they are held in their associated pockets I8 by a fixed arcuate guide 23. While being carried around by the turret I9 the cans are vacuumized and filled with sauce or other liquid. Thereafter they are displaced from the pockets I8 by a three-armed transfer turret 24 which moves the cans in contact with a fixed arcuate guide 25 and thence onto a discharge conveyor 26 which carries the filled cans off between fixed parallel guides 21.

The combined packing and trimming unit B and filler unit C are driven in timed relation from a shaft 28 to which is fixed a sprocket 29. A chain 30 engaging the sprocket 29 is trained around a sprocket 3| fast with a shaft 32 journaled on a bracket 33 carried by the main frame I2. A bevel gear 34 fast with the shaft 32 meshes with a bevel gear 35 secured to a vertical shaft 36 journaled in a frame carried bearing 31. A gear 38 fast with the shaft 35 meshes with a gear 39 secured by screws 40 to the hub I9 of the turret 9. A gear 4I also meshing with the gear 33 is secured by screws 42 to the hub 26 of the turret I9. Both turrets 9 and I9 are driven from the same power source and therefore in timed relation. The feed screw I, the transfer turrets 6, I1 and 24, and the conveyor 26 also are driven in time with the turrets 9 and I9 by any suitable drive transmission mechanism (not shown).

As previously stated cans being carried around with the packer and trimmer turret 9 are held firmly in the pockets 8 by the gripper fingers I4 during the packing and trimming operations. For this purpose there is associated with each pocket 8 a block 43 slideable in grooves 44 formed in a bracket 45 which is fixed with respect to the turret 9.

An arm 46 carrying two spaced gripper fingers I4 at its outer end is pivoted as at 4! on each bracket 45. Normally, that is, when a pocket 8 is not passing through the packing and trimming zone, the associated arm 46 and fingers I 4 will be lowered as shown at the right hand side of the turret 9 in Figure 2. Mechanism for moving each arm 46 and gripper finger I4 assembly to cause the fingers I4 to grip the can X includes an extension 48 carrying at its inner end a pair of cam follower rollers 49 adapted to operate in a groove 50 formed in a cam 5I which is fixed to the turret 9 and is rotatable therewith. The cross sectional contour of the groove 50 is such that when a block 43 moves inwardly toward the spindle II, the associated rollers 49 will follow the groove 50 and rock the lever 46 in such a manner that the gripper fingers I 4 first are moved upwardly alongside the associated can X after which the arm 45 and gripper fingers I4 move in a substantially horizontal direction so as to engage the can X and hold it firmly in the pocket 8 without, however, tending to lift the can. The arm 46 and gripper fingers I4 shown at the left of the spindle II in Figure 2 are in elevated can holding positions whereas the arm 46 and grippers I4 shown at the right ofthe spindle in Figure 2 are in their retracted positions disengaged from the associated container.

Means are provided for sliding the blocks 43 radially in response to rotation of the turret 9 so as to bring about the cam actuated rocking of the arms 46 referred to above. In the embodiment shown, the sliding of the blocks 43 is effected by cam mechanism which includes in association with each of the blocks 43 a pin 52 secured to the block and equipped at its lower end with a cam follower roller 53 operable in a groove 54 formed in a cam member 55 fixed to the frame I2.

The timing of the sequence of operations of the arm and finger assemblies 46-I4 with reference to travel of the turret 9 is indicated in Figure 1. During the travel of the turret through the angle a the assemblies 46--I4 rise, during the travel through the angle b the parts -46-I4 ar up, during the travel through the angle 0 the parts 46I4 are being lowered, and during travel through the angle d the parts 46-I4 are down.

Referring now to the mechanism for compressing or packing the solid material previously placed in the containers and for trimming off any solid material which may overhang the top edges of th containers, a spider 56 including a hub 51 is rotatable on bearings 58 surrounding the stationary spindle II. Above each pocket 8 the spider 56 is provided with a sleeve 59 fitted with a bearing liner 60 which journals a sleeve 6| formed at its lower end with a flange 62 on which trimming arms 6353 are mounted.

The stem 64 extends through the sleeve GI and at its lower end carries a packer pad or compressor 65 secured to the spindle by a screw 66, the packer pad 65 underlying the trimming arms 63. The pad 65 is shaped to fit closely within cans of elliptical or oval shape and so that the space formed by the packing will be deepest adjacent the two ends of the cans.

For individually raising and lowering each packer pad and trimming arm assembly the associated stems 64 are reduced as at 61 to provide shoulders 66. Mounted on each stem reduced portion 6! is a sleeve bracket 69 held against the associated shoulder 68 by a nut I0 screwed onto a threaded projection 10a and against a washer 'II The spindle reduced portion 61 preferably is a little shorter than the bore in the sleeve bracket 69 so as to enable adjustment of the height of the bracket 69 relative to the spindle by interposing a shim or shims between the bottom of the bracket 69 and the shoulder 68.

Each bracket 69 carries a pin 12 equipped with a pair of cam follower rollers I3 operable in a groove I4 formed in a cam I5 fixed to the stationary spindle II. Each sleeve bracket 69 is formed with a guide portion 69a which extends through a guide slot I6 in a shield I1 carried by and rotatable with the turret 9. A collar I8 secured to each stem 64 engages the upper end of the associated sleeve BI and prevents movement of the stem 64 downwardly with respect to the sleeve 6|. Thus the collar I8 at the upper end of the sleeve BI and the trimming arms 63 and pad 65 at the lower end of the sleeve 6| maintain the sleeve BI and the stem 64 against relative endwise movement.

In operation as the pockets 8 and associated trimming and packing mechanism move around with the turret 9 the cam rollers I3 carried by the stems 64 will be moved downwardly to lower the stems 64 and spindles 6|, thereby projecting the packer pads 65 into the containers X and bringing the trimming arms 63 into engagement with the top edges of the cans.

When the packing pad 65 and trimming arm 63 have been thus positioned, the arms 63 are oscillated back and forth through an angle of about 100. This back and forth movement of the arms 63 while engaging the top edges of the cans is particularly efiectiv in removing any overhanging bits of material, such as fish meat, bones, or skin. The reversal of movement incident to the oscillation of the trimming arms is effective to dislodge any particles which otherwise could have a tendency to be moved along the edge of the cans without being dislodged during movement of the arms 63 in one direction only.

The mechanism for operating the trimmer arms 63 associated with each pocket 8 includes a gear 19 splined as at 86 on the trimming arm sleeve 6|. The gear is constrained to rotate with the sleeve and is maintained against vertical movement by being mounted in an annular seat conjointly provided by the relatively fixed sleeve 59 and the bottom of the shield H. A lever 8| pivoted as at 82 on the turret spider 56 is formed with a gear section 83 meshing with the gear 19. An arm fast with the lever 8! mounts a cam follower roller 8 which is operable ina groove 85 formed in a cam 86 secured to the stationary spindle II. It will be understood that for each station or pocket 8 there is provided packing and trimming mechanism of the kind described above, each mechanism including operating means comprising a gear 19, lever 8|, gear section 83, and roller 84 operating in the cam groove 85.

The packer pad and trimming arm assemblies may be adjusted simultaneously for height by means of a screw Ha having threaded engagement with the cam I5 and having its end bearing on the cam 86.

In operation, rotation of the turret 9 about the spindle l I will cause the rollers 84 to be moved by the cam 86 so as to rock the levers BI and gear sections 83, thereby rotating the gears 19, sleeves 6|, and trimming arms 63. As the rollers travel around the cam 86 the rocking of the levers 8| will be reversed so as to rotate the gears 19, sleeves 6i, and trimming arms 63 in the opposite direction thereby effecting the desired back and forth oscillatory movement.

The timing of the operation of the packer and trimming mechanism with reference to the rotation of the turret 9 is indicated in Figure 1. During the travel of the packer pads 65 and trimming arms 63 through the angle 6 the pads and trimming arms descend, during travel through the angle 1 they are down in operative position, during travel through the angle g they rise, and during travel through the angle h they are up.

After the packing and trimming operations have been performed, the cam rollers 13 follow the groove 14 and lift the packing pads 65 and trimming arms 63 away from the associated cans X which will be in readiness to be delivered to the filling unit 0.

Since the filler unit C in which the cans are vacuumized and filled with a sauce, and the devices for feeding the cans to and from said unit are covered in detail in the. parent application from which this application has beendivided, further detailed discussion of these mechanisms is deemed unnecessary herein.

While one form of the invention has been shown for purposes of illustration, it is to be clearly understood that various changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit 6 and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. In apparatus for preparing containers for sealing, means for supporting a container charged with solid material some of which may overhang the top edge of the container; trimming means; means for effecting bodily movement of one of said means relatively toward the other of said means to place said trimming means in contact with the top edge of a supported container; and means for positively imparting back and forth relative movement between said supporting and said trimming means about an axis parallel to the direction of said bodily movement and While said trimming means is in contact with said container edge.

2. In apparatus for preparing containers for sealing, means for supporting a container charged with solid material some of which may overhang the top edge of the container; trimming means; means for effecting bodily movement of one of said means relatively toward the other of said means to place said trimming means in contact with the top edge of a supported container; and means including rack and piniondevices for effecting back and forth relative movement between said supporting and said trimming means about an axis parallel to the direction of said bodily movement and while said trimming means is in contact with said container edge.

3. In apparatus for preparing containers for sealing, means for supporting a container charged With solid material some of which may overhang the top edge of the container; trimming means; means for eifecting bodily movement of one of said means relatively toward the other of said means to place said trimming means in contact with the top edge of a supported container; said trimming means including a plurality of equidistantly spaced radially projecting double edged trimmer arms; and means for positively imparting back and forth relative movement between said supporting and said trimming means about an axis parallel to the direction of said bodily movement and while said trimming means is in contact with said container edge with each said back or forth movement at least slightly exceeding in distance the distance to which any two adjacent trimmer arms are spaced apart.

4. In apparatus of the character described, a rotatable turret structure having a plurality of pockets spaced about the periphery thereof in which to receive cans and a bearing centered over each pocket, a rotor rotatably mounted in each bearing and having trimmer arms at its lower end, means for bringing about relative movement between the rotors and pocket supported cans for engaging the trimmer arms with the top edges of the cans, rack and gear means for imparting rotary movement back and forth to the rotors while the arms are engaged with the cans for cleaning the top edges thereof of overhanging fill, said trimmer arms being radially extended and equidistantly spaced, and each said back and forth movement being over a distance at least equal to the distance to which any two adjacent arms are spaced apart, clamp members engageable with cans for securely holding them in position, cam actuated means for lifting and lowering said clamp members into and out of effective position, and cam actuated slide means for moving said members radially into and out of contact with the cans for securely holding the 7 cans while they are being engaged by the trimmer arms and then releasing the same.

5. In apparatus of the character described, a rotatable turret structure having a plurality of pockets spaced about the periphery thereof in which to receiv cans and a bearing centered over each pocket, a rotor rotatably mounted in each bearing and having trimmer arms at its lower end, means for bringing about relative movement between the rotors and pocket supported cans for engaging the trimmer arms with the top edges of the cans, rack and gear means for imparting rotary movement to the rotors while the arms are engaged with the cans for cleaning the top edges thereof of overhanging fill, a packer head depending beneath each set of trimmer arms for entering and packing fill in a can as the arms and can are brought into engagement, and means for holding each packer head against rotary movement with the associated trimmer arms.

6. In apparatus of the character described, a rotatable turret structure having a plurality of pockets spaced about the periphery thereof in which to receive cans and a bearing centered over each pocket, a rotor rotatably mounted in each bearing and having trimmer arms at its lower end, means for bringing about relative movement between the rotors and pocket supported cans for engaging the trimmer arms with the top edges of the cans, rack and gear means for im parting rotary movement back and forth to the rotors while the arms are engaged with the cans for cleaning the top edges thereof of overhanging fill, said trimmer arms being radially extended and equidistantly spaced, and each said back and forth movement being over a distance at least equal to the distance to which any two adjacent arms are spaced apart, cam actuated means operable during movement of the trimmer arm in engagement with the cans for securely clamping said cans in said pockets, a packer head depending beneath each set of trimmer arms for entering and packing fill in a can as the arms and can are brought into engagement, and means for holding each packer head against rotary movement with the associated trimmer arms.

7. In apparatus of the character described, a rotatable turret structure having a plurality of pockets spaced about the periphery thereof in which to receive cans and a bearing centered over each pocket, a sleeve rotatably mounted in each bearing and having trimmer arms at its lower end, a gear splined on each sleeve, means including a stationary cam for lowering each sleeve to engage the arms thereon with the top edge of an underlying can and then again lifting said sleeve, means for holding each gear against lowering and lifting movement with the sleeve on which it is mounted, a rack means engaging each gear, and means including a stationary cam for actuating the rack means for imparting rotary movement to the gears and sleeves while the arms are engaged with the cans for cleaning the top edges thereof of overhanging fill.

8, In apparatus of the character described, a rotatable turret structure having a plurality of pockets spaced about the periphery thereof in which to receive cans and a bearing centered over each pocket, a sleeve rotatably mounted in each bearing and having trimmer arms at its lower end, a gear splined on each sleeve, means including a stationary cam for lowering each sleeve to engage the arms thereon with the top edge of an underlying can and then again lifting said sleeve, means for holding each gear against lowering and lifting movement with the sleeve on which it is mounted, a rack means engaging each gear, and means including a stationary cam for actuating the rack means for imparting rotary movement back and forth to the gears and sleeves while the arms are engaged with the cans for cleaning the top edges thereof of overhanging fill, said trimmer arms being radially extended and equidistantly spaced, and each said back and forth movement being over a distance at least equal to the distance to which any two adjacent arms are spaced apart.

9. In apparatus of the character described, a rotatable turret structure having a plurality of pockets spaced about the periphery thereof in which to receive cans and a'bearing centered over each pocket, a sleeve rotatably mounted in each bearing and having trimmer arms at its lower end, a gear splined on each sleeve, means including a stationary cam for lowering each sleeve to engage the arms thereon with the top edge of an underlying can and then again lifting said sleeve, means for holding each gear against lowering and lifting movement with the sleeve on which it is mounted, a rack means engaging each gear, means including a stationary cam for actuating the rack means for imparting rotary movement back and forth to the gears and sleeves while the arms are engaged with the cans for cleaning the top edges thereof of overhanging fill, said trimmer arms being radially extended and equidistantly spaced, each said back and forth movement being over a distance at least equal to the distance to which any two adjacent arms are spaced apart, cam actuated means operable during movement of the trimmer arm in engagement with the cans for securely clamping said cans in said pockets, a packer head depending beneath each set of trimmer arms for entering and packing fill in a can as the arms and can are brought into engagement, and means for holding each packer head against rotary movement with the associated trimmer arms.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9 in which each packer head is supported at the lower end of a shaft extending upwardly through the respective sleeve and on which the respective sleeve is held against relative endwise movement, and in which there are included rollers projecting from said shafts and engaged in a groove in the cam constituting the lifting and lowering means.

GERALD L. ARDRON.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Russell Nov. 3, 1942 Number 

